Today, influx of brands making the market very populated and there are several challenges that exist for both customer and tech brands. One of such challenge is associated with the counterfeit products. Small retailers unknowingly deal in counterfeit products which results in drastic customer experience and it involves the risk of losing the customers for that particular brand as well as that retailer. For customer, its very challenging to differentiate between genuine and fake products. But, the retailers have the right understanding of the products so they can eliminate such challenges by procuring the authentic products from the brands or distributors. It can help them retain the customer and make them loyal for the long run. To educate customers and partners, Western Digital has launched a 'Buy Genuine' campaign to combat counterfeit product trading in India. Khalid Wani, Senior Director, Sales, India, Western Digital has shared his views in the Q&A below. Read below the excerpts:
Q: What are the benefits retailers can receive by buying and selling genuine products?
A: When a retailer deals in counterfeit products, consumers may experience low-quality products without warranty, and, in the case of storage products, they may not get the capacities and speeds they thought they were buying. From the retailer perspective, selling counterfeit products can corrode their reputation. When consumers experience problems with products that are not genuine, this can potentially lead to losing customers over time and forgoing a chance to work with renowned brands such as SanDisk.
When channel partners procure authentic SanDisk products from the authorized distributors, their consumers can enjoy the offered product warranty services, incomparably better-quality products, and the right storage capacities and speeds as mentioned. On the flip side, channel partners buying or selling counterfeit products can be legally implicated.
Therefore, dealing in genuine products will help a retailer today as well as in the long run. They will be able to win customer’s loyalty and trust and reap the benefits of working with brands such as ours.
Q: Are counterfeit goods or products a problem for the tech industry?
A: With the increase in online shopping facilitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, there was also an increase in the numbers of counterfeit goods available online. However, as I mentioned earlier the attraction of dealing in counterfeit products will corrode a retailer’s reputation over time and they will lose the trust of their customers and brands.
Q: What is it that a brand like you is doing to encourage retailers to deal in genuine products?
A: Western Digital has launched a 'Buy Genuine' campaign to combat counterfeit product trading in India. It is an educational outreach aimed at raising awareness amongst the channel partners about the importance of buying genuine products and adverse effect of counterfeit products. As part of the initiative, we are collaborating with channel partners and local retailers to encourage SanDisk brand retailers to sell genuine products.
We are also informing our channel partners and retailers about our authorized national distributors. Western Digital has an exclusive list of four authorized bona fide national distributors in India via whom all products bearing the trademark and brand "SanDisk" are imported into and sold in India. These four authorized national distributors are Rashi Peripherals Pvt. Ltd, Ingram Micro India Pvt. Ltd, Compuage Infocom Pvt. Ltd, and Redington India Ltd.
Q: How are you helping your channel partners grow despite the current environment?
A: In the last couple of years, the world has experienced a “new normal” such as work from home or anywhere, study and play from home or remotely. These trends have increased the adoption of digital technologies to ensure that there is continuity in our personal and professional lives. As a result, newer trends have come to fore.
Consumers have become more conscious about the importance of the data leading to increasing efforts to backing up their data. Businesses are going digital and adopting a combination of online and offline go-to-market models. The increase in PC consumption which has grown after a continuous decline over the years, is a growth driver for storage. An increase in mobile and PC gaming has increased the consumption of the type of storage required to get the right experience. The need to back up data and store business data have together led to increasing requirements for storage solutions. Likewise, there is an uptake in video surveillance.
At Western Digital, we continuously educate our channel partners about the new and upcoming market trends and help then realize the available opportunities. We are also running interesting and holistic marketing programs to educate, recognize and reward our partners. We are committed to realizing the potential of what’s next.
